A judge Tuesday ruled to reinstate nearly two dozen judicial delegates and their alternates who are supporting Family Court Judge Margaret "Peggy" Walsh for state Supreme Court.

On July 22, the county Board of Elections commissioners, Democrat Matthew Clyne and his GOP counterpart, Rachel Bledi, tossed two-thirds of the slate supporting Walsh. It came after allies of Justin Corcoran, a Democrat seeking the judgeship, challenged their ballot petitions on the grounds that Walsh is running for both state Supreme Court and re-election to Family Court.

In his decision, acting Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara ruled that the move was "beyond the scope of the board's authority."

Democratic Party delegates will meet at September's judicial nominating convention and nominate a candidate to run in November for a 14-year term on Supreme Court in the 3rd Judicial District, which covers Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Greene, Ulster, Sullivan and Schoharie counties.

Walsh, who was passed over by the county party's selection committee, organized a slate of candidates to challenge the party's in hopes of winning the nomination away from Corcoran at the convention. Thirty delegates backing Walsh from three Assembly districts filed petitions to run. Only the delegates from the 109th and 110th districts, whose petitions were filed with the Albany County Board of Elections, were challenged. Delegates from the 108th Assembly District were filed with the state Board of Elections.

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Ken Dow, the Columbia County-based lawyer for the delegates, had noted the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, had repeatedly determined that boards of election have "no power to deal with questions involving matters not appearing upon the face of the petition."

Dow classified the attempt by the commissioners as a "brazen malfeasance and an abuse" of their official positions. "We appreciate that the court reversed their outrageous actions, and we look forward to letting the Albany voters — rather than Matt Clyne alone — decide which delegates should represent them at the 3rd District Judicial Convention," Dow said.

Clyne, who chairs the Albany County Democratic Committee, had said: "You have a person who is actively seeking two incompatible offices, and that's clearly in violation of the public policy of the state."

Walsh allies said delegates have no legal obligation to vote for Walsh at the convention.